Frozen Moment
by StopWatchFan
Summary: Vignettes into the characters' lives and moments around Christmas 2012. My first QaF fan fic. Please review!
1. Novotny-Horvath

**Novotny-Horvath**

Christmas eve, Deb visits Vic's grave. Tradition. She rounds up as large of a group possible, and brings flowers and stories to the cemetery and updates Vic on whatever's been happening: Justin returning for the holidays; Jenny Rebecca has painted a stick-family portrait for Christmas; Gus is going into high school next year; Hunter is nearly finished college; Michael is expanding the comic book store…

"…Too much to list it all." Debbie whispers, rubbing her hands around Michael's which she had been grasping since arrival. Carl has one hand on Debbie's waist and another holding an umbrella over himself and Debbie, huddling close and keeping warm as best they can. The snow is falling down swiftly, keeping a brisk breeze around their cheeks, Ben also wielding an umbrella in an attempt to keep the snow at bay.

"Mom, we should go. You're freezing." Michael says, wrapping his arm over his mother's shoulders. Debbie nods, feeling warm breath and a soft kiss being pressed against her cheek. She smiles towards Carl, bringing one hand to stroke his cheek for a short moment.

"You're right. Bye, Vic… Merry Christmas." She turns, kisses the tips of her gloved fingers and bends down to press it to Vic's plaque. She brushes away the snow that's accumulated since the last time she wiped it a few minutes ago.

Michael kisses Debbie's cheek, then Ben kisses Michael's, and turns them towards the gates. The group couples off, holding each other close as they retreat to the warm of their cars and homes.


	2. Marcus-Peterson

**Marcus-Peterson**

"JR, are you ready for tomorrow?" Melanie calls out into the living room. Jenny Rebecca turns and smiles.

"Yes! Mommy, look what I made for grandma!" She lifts a paper into the air to show off her latest piece of artwork. Melanie comes and sits next to Jenny Rebecca and grins as she sees what JR made. It was a painting of a stick version of Melanie, Lindsay, Gus, and JR in front of their house. Melanie chuckled when she made out a scribble-like picture over Gus's chest to be a t-shirt with a picture of a train on it. _Those damn train models of his_, Melanie thinks happily, smiling.

"This is great sweetheart." Melanie says, setting the painting down and hugging her daughter. "Now, have we decided on the movie for the car ride?" She continues her previous subject. JR shakes her head. "Okay, we'll find something. Just get ready for bed so you can be ready early tomorrow, okay?" Melanie says, praying the girl would co-operate.

"Gus isn't getting ready! He's still doing stuff in his room." She argues, pointing defiantly upwards towards Gus's bedroom.

"Well, I'll get to him. Go on, brush your teeth." Melanie kisses JR's forehead before she leads her towards the bathroom. Melanie heads upstairs to deal with Gus.

"Mel," Lindsay calls from the landing. Melanie looks up, smiling, meeting and kissing her wife at the top of the staircase.

"Are we all packed?" Melanie asks, knowing the answer would be 'no', knowing how Gus procrastinates. _He is like his father is too many ways,_ Melanie thinks with a smile_._

"Gus is packed, I made sure of it, and I am too. He just won't stop playing Assassin's Creed. Brian should have sent the Christmas gift _wrapped_ if he had to send it early." Lindsay explains, leaning her forehead against Melanie's, looking towards the bright light at the end of the hall in Gus' room.

"Oh, well, I'll tell him JR has first pick for the drive movie if she gets to bed first; he will do anything not to watch Tinker Bell again. Poor thing." Melanie laughed, kissing Lindsay again before going to bribe Gus. Lindsay watches jovially as Melanie comes out soon after, the lights out and all.


	3. Novotny-Bruckner

**Novotny/Bruckner**

Ben Bruckner's train of thought is halted by a slight ruckus coming from outside his zone of pencil and paper and looks up. "You do know that JR isn't actually going to be here, right?" Ben jokes, watching from the sitting room couch, as Michael gathers Jenny Rebecca's toys and sketch pads onto the coffee table. Michael looks at Ben and smiles.

"I know, I just thought I could bring some of her stuff to my mom's house in case she feels like using it. I don't know." Michael sighs happily, crashing next to his husband. He smiles as Ben wraps his arms over him. "It's nice. The house is really quiet." Ben hums in agreement.

Michael turns his head and kisses Ben. Their mouths are warm, but slightly minty. Michael brings a hand up and runs his fingers through Ben's soft hair. Michael leans away for a moment and begins to slide off Ben's glasses.

"Wait – what time is it?" Ben holds his glasses still. Michael purses his lips and shrugs, looking down at his watch.

"It's 9:20." Michael says, happily returning to his task at hand. Ben again stops him.

"No, babe, Hunter'll be home soon and we have to get up early to prep the house with Deb." Ben sighs, kissing his husband before standing up from the couch. Michael pouts, but stands as Ben walks towards the kitchen.

"He ate at Emily's tonight, so he better not be scavenging through here at midnight." Ben comments, clearing up rogue dinner plates from the table. Michael leans on the doorframe, following Ben with his eyes. He finds his moment once Ben closes the dishwasher door, and quickly strides to wrap his arms around Ben's waist.

"He's all grown up now." Michael replies with a smile, kissing Ben's shoulder. Ben chuckles and turns to face Michael, who is carrying a mixture of happiness and worry on his features. Ben frowns.

"Do you think they'll survive?" Ben whispers, running his hands along Michael's shoulders and forearms. Michael sighs.

"I hope so... I'm just worried about how they can." Michael's eyes stray shyly to the side. Ben raises his eyebrows and holds Michael closer.

"Hey..." Ben begins, his voice soft and tranquil. "Hey, we did – so can they." Ben leans his forehead on Michael's, kisses his nose, then his lips. Michael smiles and whispers, "Yeah, we did."

Ben smiles in return and continues to cheer up his husband, when the sound of the front door's lock cracks through the house. There is a moment of muffled shuffling and footsteps before the two actually realizes there is a world outside of theirs.

"Oops – they're having _special bonding_ time." Hunter laughs from the corridor.

Ben and Michael lean away from each other's lips and laugh, turning towards their son. "How was dinner with the folks?" Michael asks, smiling, walking over and patting Hunter's shoulder as he walks into the room. Hunter shrugs, opening the fridge door. Ben gives a teasing look to Michael. He grins.

"It was fun. They seem really nice. But it's always awkward to meet the parents, right?" Hunter turns back to them, a chilled container of "Ben's Tibetan cuisine" in his hand.

"Well, sometimes." Ben nods.

Michael smiles, "Yeah, I know for a fact Ben was scared of my mother when they met."

Hunter laughs, "I see where you were coming from."

"So, did they feed you, or were you in the interrogation room the whole time?" Ben jokes, gesturing to the container in Hunter's hand. Hunter smiles.

"Yeah, I don'know; they had a lot of hard-to-pronounce stuff, and finding something resembling food was a mission. Christmas does things to people." Hunter laughs, sticking the container in the microwave.

Ben smiles, moving away from the counter, and hugs Hunter. "Good night. We're getting up early to go to Deb's." Hunter nods.

Michael and Ben toss one arm around the other as they head towards the stairs when Hunter speaks again. "Emily is invited too, right?"

Michael and Ben share a look, and smile with a relieved sigh. "Of course."


	4. Schmidt-Wyzecki

**Schmidt/Wyzecki**

Blake wakes up to the smell of pancakes. He hums softly, as he gets out of bed, making it, and makes himself decent with a pair of sweatpants. As he enters the kitchen of the apartment, he sees Ted at the stove, flipping the promised pancakes.  
"Morning." Blake says, smiling, and rubbing his eyes. Ted looks up and grins.  
"Morning, sleepy-head." Ted replies, moving the finished pancakes from the pan to the platter. Blake bends down to fondly scratch the neck of Pavarotti, their cat, who is lounging on the armrest of the couch. Blake walks over and presses a kiss to Ted's cheek.  
"When did you wake up?" Blake asks, looking over the breakfast on the kitchen table: pancakes, waffles, a small bowl of strawberries, orange juice, eggs and bacon. "Are you trying to kill me?" Blake jokes, grabbing a rasher from the plate.  
"An hour ago – and no, believe it or not, I do still have some use for you." Ted grins, pulling Blake towards him by his hips.  
Blake laughs, "Oh, really – use for me?" Ted nods, leaning in close to Blake's lips. Blake grins and leans out, biting into the strip of bacon in his hand.  
"Oh, that's how we're playing." Ted chuckles, squeezing Blakes bottom before kissing him. Blake hums into the kiss.  
"Aw, it's not fair – you're minty." Blake pouts, sitting down at the table. Ted smiles.  
"You had your chance – now it's time for a nice Christmas morning breakfast before heading out to Debbie's." Ted says sweetly, kissing the top of Blake's head before sitting across from him at the table.  
"Okay," Blake says, looking over the surplus of food between them. He looks up to Ted and smiles warmly. "Thank you."  
Ted smiles, "You're worth it. Merry Christmas."

* * *

_I'm hoping that my take on my take of the loose-ends are good. Please review!_


	5. Honeycutt-Colpepper

**Honeycutt/Colpepper**

Emmett watches from the doorframe as Calvin works away at his desk, sorting through folders and writing in notes in margins. "Honey, it's rude to stare." Calvin teases, looking up at Emmett, smiling.  
Emmett grins and walks in, draping one arm across Calvin's shoulder. "It's a spread for New Years." He says, going through some proofs with beautiful men and women holding glasses of champagne and highlighting engagement rings on the women's fingers.  
"It's going out tomorrow for billboard spots across the country; I need to choose which one to go with." Calvin pouts a bit, studying them hard. Emmett squeezes his shoulder lovingly.  
"This one." Emmett says, pointing at the third proof, of a woman looking down in surprise at the man on his knee.  
"It kind of looks like he's about to go down on her; man, I told her that dress was short." Calvin jokes, but picks it out anyway.  
"Oh, Lord, that image is not going away any time soon; thank you." Emmett teases, rubbing at his eyes. Calvin chuckles.  
"You must be tired; Alicia can be a bit energetic." Calvin says, bringing his hand to Emmett's waist. Emmett shook his head.  
"No, she's wonderful. It's just that I've never been that well-experienced with teenage girls." Emmett says, smiling, and sliding down to sit on Calvin's lap.  
"I'm glad she likes you; she'd be less jumpy if she saw you more often though, I'm just saying." Calvin says. Emmett nods, wrapping his arm around Calvin's neck, kissing his cheek softly. Emmett checks the clock and sighs.  
"It's midnight; send in the photo and let's go to bed." Emmett says, grinning and kissing Calvin's lips, sucking on his lower lip. Calvin hums into the kiss and squeezes Emmett's bottom.  
"When do we have to get up?" Calvin asks, kissing Emmett's collar bone, working across his neck and shoulder.  
"Any time now would be best." Emmett teases, lowering himself to kiss Calvin's neck.  
"Very funny; let's go to bed, so we can go have fun with your friends tomorrow." Calvin whispers, his lips at Emmett's ear. Emmett takes Calvin's hand, stands up, and leads the way.


	6. Kinney-Taylor

**Kinney/Taylor**

Brian grins as Justin groans under his lips. "Brian, we have to go." He gasps, trying to push Brian away from his navel.  
"You just got here; humour me." Brian whispers, holding on to Justin's hand and lacing his fingers between Justin's. Justin huffs, fighting off a smile, not admitting defeat.  
"I got here yesterday, and right now, everyone is expecting us to be there." Justin explains yet again. Brian sighs and lifts up off of Justin.  
"Fine. You win." He states, standing and walking off to get dressed. "You owe me a blowjob later." Justin laughs and follows Brian to the closet.  
"Wear something festive. No – not a black button-up." Justin scolds him, taking the shirt away when Brian picks it out. Brian pouts and continues.  
"Is this good enough?" Brian says, pulling out a maroon button-up.  
"With dress pants or maybe black jeans." Justin suggests, happy that Brian is at least trying to match the season. Brian smiles.  
Justin begins to button and zip up the clothes that Brian had messed with in the past few minutes. He turns to the window, looking out to the endless yard. "I can't believe you still have this place. Do you even use it?" He laughs, turning back to Brian.  
"I rent a section of it out for most of the year. Can't let it go to waste, now, can we?" Brian says, smiling at him teasingly. Justin frowns.  
"It's alright. It pays for booty calls to New York." Brian jokes again, wrapping his arms around Justin's waist. Justin smiles and kisses Brian.  
"I missed you. Last time we saw each other it was August. And it was so fucking hot that we barely did anything, anyway." Justin brings his arms up and around Brian's neck.  
Brian grins, "And I was trying to make up for it, but no, we must attend the family Christmas party." Justin smiles and slaps Brian's side playfully.  
"Let's go."


	7. Epilogue

**The Full House**

Everyone arrives steadily. First, Michael, Ben, and Hunter (and Emily) arrive in the morning to help set up the dining room. Debbie, of course, has Emily feeling warm and welcome in an equally awkward way. Next, Melanie and Lindsay arrive with the kids; JR very excited to see her toys Michael brought from their house. Ted and Blake arrive quickly after Melanie and Lindsay, carrying wrapped gifts and food. Emmett and Calvin arrive with gifts. Calvin brings his camera to take a group photograph when everyone is present. It is nearly 3:00 pm when Brian and Justin arrive. Everyone frets over Justin about his latest work and New York, while Brian is happily playing around with the Gus and JR.  
When Debbie loudly declares that dinner is served, the crowd comes pouring into the dining room. Jenny Rebecca decides to sit with Hunter to meet Emily, who she bonded with over her stick-portrait.  
Justin and Calvin rave about art for a bit too long, Brian attempting to stuff his mouth if he didn't switch the subject. "With _mashed potatoes_, you filthy-minded people!" Brian teases when the parents give him a look.  
Everyone has a wonderful time. At the end of dinner, they all go into the den, and Calvin prepares his camera. Everyone together again, no exemptions, since last Christmas. Every person takes a moment to appreciate this. To appreciate that everyone is here: healthy, progressive, aging, and learning.  
"Alright, we have ten seconds!" Calvin calls, running to Emmett.  
Everyone takes a breath. Everyone prepares to save the moment.  
Everyone hopes to freeze their emotions in that moment.  
If only a camera can do that.

* * *

_I submitted this fic to the Christmas contest on the Queer as Folk fan group on DeviantArt! If you have an account, please vote for it!_

_q a f - libertyave . deviantart dot com_

I would really appreciate the support :)


End file.
